#i love the brooklyn girlsies

[to-be-a-dreamer]

Spot Conlon and the rest of Brooklyn all being girls actually means so much to me and not in a "See women can be strong too!!!" kinda way because like. It just makes so much sense???

Like, okay so if you stop thinking about it as "the strongest and most fearsome group of newsies is also all girls" and instead think of it as "the group of newsies that are all girls is also the strongest and most fearsome" it all starts clicking into place.

Because if you were Spot Conlon, if you had a group of young girls who all live and work on the streets to take care of, of course you would want to have this big, intimidating reputation of being the best fighter and strongest leader. If every other borough, most of which are made up of dozens of teenage boys, believes you can and will soak them for so much a stepping foot in Brooklyn, they won't dare think about so much as touching one of your girls.

Of course you would make sure all of your girls know how to beat an opponent much bigger and stronger than them. If someone does mess with them, they have to be able to fight back. Not just to protect themselves, but to make sure that whichever idiot thought it was a good idea to mess with Brooklyn never dares try it again. They have to be able to win that fight and all future fights.

Of course you would be super territorial and make sure you don't give a single inch of leniency towards the other boroughs. You can't show any kind of vulnerability, no matter how capable you are. Being "just as strong" as the other boroughs isn't enough because they will never see you as an equal. So you choose to be seen as a threat.

Brooklyn has to be strong. They have to be scary. They're not any more violent or mean than the other boroughs, but they need the others to think they are because the alternative is being seen as an easy target. That can't happen.

I also feel like Brooklyn wouldn't have this reputation unless they were forced to. Like, if it were up to them they would be kind and welcoming and friendly. But whenever they gave an inch the other neighborhoods took a mile. Whenever they showed even an ounce of kindness there was always someone who took that as a sign of weakness.

It's not fun being isolated. It's not fun being feared. But it keeps them safe and that's the most important thing. I think Brooklyn only has a reputation of being strong fighters because they keep being forced to fight.

I have no idea if this is even remotely comprehensible but do you see my vision? I just. The idea of Brooklyn being the strongest borough out of necessity instead of desire. Spot Conlon being a girl has so many implications about this character's backstory and motivations that we've never had before and it's so much more than just "Hey did you guys know women can be competent leaders too? I know, WILD"

[noxexistant]

@athousandboxjumps asked for mack with a baseball bat and what can i say i’m a servant of the people

[chimeofthecomet]

pips discovers fireflies

[mostlybroadway]

racetrack higgins’s first love was robin hood.

a child of ten couldn’t help but be enamored by the hooded vigilante, stealing from the rich to give to the less fortunate. race himself was one of the less fortunate: his mother had died while having him and his father wanted little to do with him. like robin hood, race decided to make a life for himself with his friends. he just needed friends.

and then came racetrack higgins’s second love: spot conlon

she and race did everything together. when race happened upon the brooklyn newsies on a regular trip to the sheepshead, he was instantly enamored. finally, newsboys—news girls—who were just like him. or how he used to be.

spot and race were partners in crime. they sold together, ate together, and lived together in the small brooklyn boarding house. as they reached eleven, twelve, thirteen, they started to do more. they saw others kissing and wanted to try for themselves. their hugs lingered a little longer, their hands brushing against each other suddenly meant a little more. race had found his maid marian. and spot thought she had found hers, too.

racetrack higgins’s third love was jack kelly.

race had seen jack around. he made his way through lower manhattan now and again, seeing how the boys sold compared to the brooklyn girls. they needed some pointers, surely, but they were good company. they always wanted to play games with race if he asked them to. race wanted to spend the most time with jack, though. the newly appointed leader, the cowboy. race was happy with spot, and kissing spot, and loving spot, but his love of jack kelly was something entirely new.

race caught himself looking at jack’s chest and wishing his own vest and shirt sat flat against his breasts. race looked at how jack carried himself—so tall, so manly—and race wanted it too. race needed it.

when race told spot he was leaving to join the lower manhattan boys, she was not happy. she swore at him, she threw a few good shoves at him, but he remained strong. he still loved her. he figured he probably would always love her. but she loved someone that no longer existed.

racetrack higgins’s fourth love, albert dasilva, took him entirely by surprise.

albert welcomed race in immediately, just as spot had all those years before. but something about albert was different. while spot was loud and domineering, albert let race take charge. albert listened. albert was soft, and caring, and had that red hair that could make anyone fall at his feet.

albert dasilva helped racetrack higgins accept who he was. he helped him bind correctly. he made sure the other boys respected race’s privacy while changing. and he loved race no matter who he was.

and that made all the difference.

[spinningerster]

one week since closing how's everybody holding up

[undescribed1mage]

I am. So normal abt her btw

[onemorestrangeronthestreet]

For the stage door stories...

On the last day...

I fell off the curb and nearly knocked Lucy over..

I was chatting to Owen after the matinee (I don't remember what about) but when we hugged bye, I turned around and Bobbie nearly knocked my head off with an umbrella, went to apologise, realised it was me, said "oh it's you" and patted me on the shoulder.

Had the longest chat with Lindsay to which we confirmed we would see her in Sinatra and then she urned to me directly and said "see you soon lovely" and automatically gave me a massive hug.

Then like 10 minutes later I was walking back up from dropping my friend off at the station, then proceeded to walk straight into mambo and we both stood there for like 1 minute trying to get passed each other.

Then me and Lillie had like a 5 minute long chat about literally everything..

Good day for the Brooklyn Newsies

- 👽👽

Omg those are amazing!!!

They all seem so sweet ugh am I a little jealous I never got to meet any of the girls? Maybe....

[brooklynbadboys]

A History of Girlsies

After a rise popularity of the 'girlsies' after Newises UK introduced Brooklyn as an all-female group of Newises, I decided to look deeper into the history of newsgirls at the time.

This is only for fun and a way for me to acknowledge the women at the time who until Newsies UK, were rarely given a spotlight in Newsies media.

Late 1800s

In 1868, there were roughly 300 newgirls and 2000 newsboys living in New York, but exact numbers were hard to state as newsies were 'at all hours in all public places’

Prior to mid 1800s, many newsgirls had to dress as boys in order to bypass social prohibitions

There were newsgirls of different backgrounds, education, class and age, but most were age 8-20

Many newsgirls were expert sellers, making names for themselves, having their own territories and gaining devoted customers

Multiple sources state the intelligence of the newsgirls being higher than that of the newsboys, likely having to work more than the newsboys to make the same wage

The media at the time presented newsgirls as pretty, witty and resourceful, whilst the newsgirls described themselves as real people in unfortunate situations

People within society had opposing reports on newsgirls, as some stated them to be stylish, respectable and intelligent, whilst others stated their crudeness, and raggedness and coarseness

There are many more mixed accounts, as others report newsgirls as heroic, behaving far better than the newsboys, respecting the city more and going out of their way to help civilians

The newsgirls were widely disliked as the idea of girls working on the streets was seen as evil and it was believed that the girls would put the newsboys out of business

It was also believed that the girls would be corrupted and lose their innocence and therefore should leave the work to the boys

This led many newgirls to work in less seen areas of the city, as the newsboys ran the city, making their presence known

What was most loved about the newsboys, such as their camaraderie and hardwork, was hated about the newsgirls

The girls often faced injustices and dangers far greater than the boys. Newsgirls as young as eleven were often harassed, robbed by male street workers, abducted and assaulted. This was used in the defence of banning all newsgirls under sixteen

The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children

In the late 1880s, the community disliked the newsgirls so deeply that they wanted to get the girls off the street for good. It was passed that girls under 16 were no longer allowed to sell papers

They disguised this cruelty as an act of kindness to protect the girls and guide them to a life of motherhood and domesticity

The girls listened before one day fighting back, all swarming to the streets

A few years later, another attack on the newsgirls occured due to complaints from newsboys, publishers and patrons

Newsgirls were given warnings, and if they were to return to selling papers, then and their parents would be arrested and punished severely

By the end of the 19th century as few as 12 newsgirls under 16 were left in New York City

This ban extended to the newsboys in 1899, but little consequence was given and enforcement was low, unlike the ban on newsgirls

Newsgirls in New York:

Notable New York Newsgirls

Winnie and Sadie Horn (‘the soubrette newsgirls’)

In the late 1800s, they were two of the most famous newsgirls, working from 3pm to 3am everyday

Winnie was blind in one eye and dressed eccentrically, reporting to have spoken in Shakespearean English. She would scribble quotes from literature, such as the bible and Shakespeare, on her newspapers

Winnies loyal customers ranged from the New York City mayor to Theodore Roosevelt

Winnie was known as ‘winsome Winnie’ and ‘queen of the newsies’

They stated that them and their sisters were ‘born newsgirls’

Winnie was notable and had many mentions in the papers up until her death:

Mary Welter

Marywent to school until she was 13 and wanted to continue, but she had to support her family

She sold papers at twenty-third street ferry and upwards of 10 dollars a week ($328)

She would stay focused on business when and the competing newsboys inevitably began to act up throughout the day, she would take their customers

Newsies the musical

Before Newsies UK, there were no newsgirl characters. Despite claims of characters such as Smalls being women, they were dressed as newsboys and the Smalls Broadway actress, Laurie Veldheer, stated that Smalls is a boy.

Smalls in Newsies OBC:

With characters as old as 17 (Jack Kelly), and newsgirls of over 16 being allowed to work at this time, along with evidence of newsgirls taking part in the strike, there is no reason for newsgirls to have been left out of the story. There are arguments that may be made about Brooklyn being all women and the inaccuracies of this, but I pose to that how accurate is it for the newsies to be singing, dancing, and flying.

Brooklyn in Newsies UK:

A final note: This may seem redundant after titling this post ‘the history of girlsies’, but I feel the need to point it out: ‘Newsies’ isn’t a gendered term. Newsgirls throughout history have referred to themselves as ‘newsies’. There is no need to other newsgirls and separate them from the term. They are newsies and their gender doesn’t change that.

I hope this can shed some light on newsgirls and their history, and why their stories should be heard alongside the retellings of the newsboys.

Sources:

Extra: The history of America’s girl newsies

Backstage at “newsies” with Ben fankhauser and Tommy bracco

“The newsgirl question”: competing frames of progressive era girl newsies

Newsies vs. The World

[girlsies-week-2023]

Information on some of my favorite Girlsies !!! For sillies !!!

(working title was me infodumping about girlsies under the excuse that it is relevent to the event)

I don't have the energy to go through & update this post at the moment, but @thegroundsofbrooklyn has a post here that has more info on the UK Brooklyn Girls !!!

Starting out with our number one, the original girlsie: Charlie (Hard Promises) !!!

Charlie was the original love interest for Jack in Hard Promises, and she was a newsie !! Her story was that she was living in a house of prostitution with her aunt (with her aunt trying to shield her from as much as possible to stop her from going into that life / being exposed to it) and she was planning to (and did!) go with Jack to Santa Fe at the end.

Next up: Smalls (Papermill - Broadway) (Manhattan / Possibly The Bronx) !!!:

I know that whether or not Smalls is a girl is up to interpretation but I am interpreting her as a girl & including her in this list (same with Sniper).

Smalls is a Bronx newsie (as implied by her yelling so's da Bronx during Brooklyn's Here), but she's still allowed in Manhattan (hence being there for KoNY in some versions), so she's probably allowed to wander around on her own.

According to Liana Hunt, she lives in a family with at least one parent and a ton of brothers who all work to support them, so she's sort've eager to be one of the boys in that sense — she's also super tough.

Talls !!! (Broadway) (Manhattan / Possibly The Bronx):

Talls was Caitlyn Caughell's newsie whenever she was on for that track. I have no information on her besides the fact that she was played by Caitlyn Caughell & is probably a play on her height of some kind — + also being a play on Smalls. Smalls & Talls <3

Sniper !!! (Tour) (Manhattan / Possibly The Bronx):

I'm going to be mixing in other backstories for this because as far as I'm aware Sniper's the only newsie on that list with a backstory that isn't from their actress ? + she has more involvement in the show when she isn't a girl so I'm going off that

But according to Alex Wong — Sniper's last name is Wah, and she's the daughter (son in this backstory but it's okay) of Sam Wah, who owns the laundromat above Jacobi's (the sign of which can be seen in the pre-uksies Jacobi scenes). She's named after her 'incredible aim' with a slingshot.

In certain versions, she's one of the scabs, the last one to throw down her papers, and the one to go 'Ah, what the hell? My father's gonna kill me anyway!' in the proshot. In the tour, she was also the one to yell so's da bronx.

Puddles !!! (Tour) (Manhattan / Possibly The Bronx):

Puddles is in the same group as Talls in the sense that there is like no canon lore about her & there isn't even any information besides her name and the fact that she was played by Melissa Steadman Hart during the tour. However she has the cutest nickname and deserved to be included in this list.

Marriott! Buttons !!! (Marriott) (Manhattan):

According to Adrienne Storrs, the actress for Buttons, she's been a newsie for three years. Her parents are poor Italian immigrants that don't speak English, so she works to support them. She was convinced to start selling Newspapers by JoJo after being caught pickpocketing on the street.

Buttons & JoJo are best gal pals, she sees Specs as a younger brother figure (she's always looking out for him), and Race and Albert are her favorite people to joke around with!

She has (had?) a rich boyfriend that went to jail for forgery a bit before the strike, so she's a little heartbroken during it, but she's 'continuing to live her life and she has the best newsie friends'.

She has a really positive mindset in general.

She also (along with JoJo) checked Katherine out when she walked into Jacobi's and later taught her how to Irish dance during KoNY with JoJo !!!

Marriott! JoJo !!! (Marriott) (Manhattan):

According, once again, to Adrienne Storrs, JoJo (who's real name is Josephine) is 'one tough cookie'. She was originally a pickpocket, but Jack found her and took her under her wing for ten percent of her earnings when she was almost twelve. She was one of the original newsies in the Manhattan group, and after three years she started seeking out other girl newsies (& that's when Buttons came along !!). She's been a newsie for about five years, 'not too far behind how long Jack had been selling'.

She has an Irish father and a Romanian mother and they were circus artists that came to America with P.T Barnum in the 1870s. She was born in 1882 (making her seventeen at the time of the strike) and she was raised around a circus.

Rafaela (Marriott) (Brooklyn):

Once again, according to Adrienne Storrs, Rafaela's parents moved from Spain to Puerto Rico in the 1880s and she was born there in 1885. They moved to New York City when she was five and she's very close with her brothers, who were six and eight at the time. All three children became newsies at the same time, being expected to work as much as their parents did.

She didn't go to school, she taught herself how to read and speak English, using her time as a newsie as a teaching device. She's super tough, and she had to grow up really fast. She 'has a strong sense of community with her family and fellow Brooklyn Newsies'.

Joey (Marriott) (Brooklyn):

You guessed it, information yet again from Adrienne Storrs!

Joey is Racetrack Higgins' cousin, and she's super positive. She's also secretly a really good fighter.

Hildy (Marriott) (Brooklyn):

You'll never guess where this info is from.

Hildy is German, and her parents own a sausage shop, and she likes to get into trouble.

Honorable mention to Nancy, Hazel, and Muriel from Newsies Jr.

I don't have the energy to read through all of newsies jr rn to find out which lines they have, however I can tell you off the top of my head that they are very supportive of Katherine and probably also on the younger side (because. Newsies Jr. Obviously).

If anyone who's played them would like to mention their backstory in the rbs or in this accs ask box, that would be lovely !!!

Spot Conlon (UK) (Brooklyn):

Using Lillie-Pearl's backstory for Spot here, because Clarice never got the opportunity to share hers if she had one :(

Lillie-Pearl's backstory for Spot is that her parents were Irish and African American immigrants living in Seneca Village.

Spot in Uksies is very close with Davey !!! According to Lillie-Pearl, she doesn't call him Davey, she calls him David, and in her cameo description she added 'making rhymes with Davey' into her list of things she enjoyed. She is also very close with her girls (obviously), specifically Lucky & Stray, who she did the handshake with depending on what point in the show it was. She also liked Race, depending on the day.

(She also probably isn't on awful terms with most of the Manhattan newsies, especially if they're girls.)

Lucky (Newsies UK) (Brooklyn):

Lucky doesn't have a lot of canon lore too her HOWEVER I can tell you that she used to do the handshake with Spot back when she existed, was called Tops for some performances, AND her real name is Eliza !!! She also interacted with Scope a lot during The Rally.

Mack (Newsies UK) (Brooklyn):

Mack's real name is Jeanie MacDonald, but she shortened it down to Mack because she didn't like her name.

She's a Scottish immigrant whose family moved to the U.S (just North of New York) to start a farm, but a plague of locusts destroyed the farm, so they had to move into the city for work.

She couldn't stand being stuck in their one bedroom cramped apartment, so her father suggested that she take up work as a Newsie.

Splint (Newsies UK) (Brooklyn):

Splint's arm is in a Splint !!! For some mystery reason that definitely isn't because Bobbie's hand was injured at the time of the first preview. Definitely not.

She doesn't appear after The Rally, which is because — according to Bobbie — she falled down & died :( (Bobbie needed 2 be there as Hannah)

Also her real name is Splinty McSplint.

(Bobbie also said that if she were to have a love interest it would be Buttons.)

Scope (Newsies UK) (Brooklyn):

I have no canon info about Scope besides the fact that she has the world's cutest pigtails and hung around Lucky at The Rally a lot :(

Ritz (Newsies UK) (Brooklyn):

Ritz' real name is Rita, and her nickname comes from ritz crackers and also Lucy's last characters name !! That's all the canon info we have on her as far as ik :(

Stray (Newsies UK) (Brooklyn):

Stray's nickname comes from her feeding all of the stray animals of New York !!!

She is related to Specs in some way (probably siblings, considering the fact that Sam & Immie are).

She becomes a Bowery Beauty when she's older, and her real name is from a newsgirl turned dancer but Immie doesn't remember who that is — the closest I got in my research is Lillian Russell, who wasn't a newsgirl but yk close enough.

(Her love interest would've been Mike !!)

Pips (Newsies UK) (Brooklyn):

Again, no canon information on Pips as far as I'm aware, besides the fact that she is literally adorable

[make-friends-with-the-rats]

For the ask game, what about Snitch and/or Spot? Not much is said about Snitch but I’d still like to hear your opinion on him anyway

neva fear, Brooklyn is here!

and Snitch is here :)

How I feel about this character: It's Spot frickin Conlon, y'all. The legend him/herself! 92sies Spot specifically has some of the best one liners in the entire movie and I think it's really interesting that Spot Conlon is given such a larger-than-life reputation. What really makes Spot so influential? Does Spot have a 'escaped on the back of Roosevelt's carriage' story? Spot respects Jack and sees him as a brother. That's what makes Jack's betrayal so hard on Spot. (I seriously think we need more Spot and Jack sibling dynamics, come on y'all.) Spot is also a very strategic thinker and would kill you at chess. 92sies Spot reminds me of a chihuahua.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Race and Spot because 92sies Spot (kinda) canonically thinks Race is pretty. It's just silly and they are partners in crime. Plus, why are you going all the way to Sheepshead Bay every day to sell papers Race? Aren't you a Manhattan newsie? Uksies Sprace is also so special to me. [fanart!] And for your consideration: Sarah and Spot! Most underrated pairing of all time both romantically and platonically. I need more people to talk about them. [fanart!]

My non-romantic OTP for this character: SARAH AND SPOT!!! You can't tell me that Spot wouldn't love Sarah Jacobs. Spot meets Sarah at the rally and is immediately impressed by Sarah "my father and I are socialists" Jacobs and they bond to David's utter bafflement. Spot and Sarah are literally going to take over the world together guys, I'm telling you. Spot and Race is also great platonically. And then there's uksies Spot and all of her girls. I just love them all so much and they have each other's backs.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Spot Conlon and Brooklyn being girls adds so much depth to Spot as a character in the stage musical version of Newsies. I honestly don't know how Spot could be better improved upon given the musical script as it is. Long live the Brooklyn girlsies!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: The real Spot Conlon may or may not have been a leader of the Brooklyn newsies at some point, but he was definitely from Brooklyn and he wore pink suspenders [x]. I wish that they'd kept those pink suspenders in the movie. Granted, the red suspenders are meant to distinguish leadership/power (like Jack's red bandana), but arguably his pink suspenders would have served just as well as a symbol of leadership in historical context. Give him back his pink suspenders! In the stage musical version of Newsies, I really, really, really wish they'd adapted Spot's character better. There's just so much of Spot that we lost in adaptation.

Thank you for the ask! And let me know if there's anything I missed that you wanted to know in my Snitch opinions post :)

ask game

characters answered: David Jacobs, Jack Kelly, Blink and Skittery, Bumlets and Swifty, Sarah Jacobs, Specs and Dutchy, Les Jacobs, Crutchie, Snitch and Itey, Mush Meyers

[this-is-macy]

I cried so hard watching the Newsies UK cast's Olivier performance last night and I want to talk about why!

Firstly, I just love this show so much! I can't afford to travel overseas which means I haven't gotten to see much of the UK production, sadly, so this medley was an absolute treat! Honestly, it blew me away! It brought me to happy tears to see that this show and these songs are in such great hands! BUT it goes so much deeper than that.

Two actors in this cast are disabled. As a disabled person myself, I can't tell you how validating it feels to see people like me being cast in professional theatre. Unfortunately, it's still rare. Even in a show like Newsies which features disabled characters and is based on a historic event that was led by a disabled person. It makes me feel incredibly encouraged and empowered to see them up there on that stage! (Especially given that one of them is visually impaired like me!!!) Mukeni Nel and Matthew Duckett, y'all are my heroes. 💜

And, of course, I lost it when the Brooklyn girlsies came out! Historically, women and girls also worked as newsies and were involved in the strike, and it feels SO good to finally see that represented in the story!

I can't stress this enough: REPRESENTATION 👏 IS 👏 SO 👏 IMPORTANT! 👏

(Also, I want to see this show so 👏 damn 👏 bad! 👏 😭)

[jack-kellys]

west end question: i obviously love my brooklyn girls and would die for them all, but is it bad that it’s taken away the sprace dynamic for me? like i’m still 100% on board with a nowhere near canon ship and it shouldn’t affect me they’ve decided to have spot be a girl, but it lowkey has? and i feel kinda guilty about it? idk i love my proshot boys. but i am 100% here for all the uk newsies cast they are amazing and so talented and it’s definitely my favourite production by far!! idk if i’m making sense

ok part of me feels a litle baited actually because like. i feel like... im vocal abt mlm musical sprace not being a big vibe for me in the first place. so im a funny person to ask if you were looking for relief lmao. anyway here's my thesis below.

wait also if ur a white newsie fan a read-thru+rb of this would be much appreciated thank youuu (also yall have been eating up my character analyses anyway sooooo!)

TL;DR THESIS: if you're feeling genuinely let down that your ship did not see the light of day and a black girlsie spot conlon got to instead, then yes, you should reevaluate that.

followers, if you've been with me long enough, you know that i have quite strong opinions about how this show gets treated when it comes to interpretations and fandom/fanon. mostly, this is because i literally work in theater, and it's extremely backwards in my brain personally when shows get treated more like a movie or tv show than a performance piece.

im also one of the only ppl in this fandom that ever seems to dare speak on race (not the damn character smh). and anon, buddy, kiddo, this does have to do with race, gender, and sexuality.

firstly, what i think needs to be understood about newsies, is that it is theater, which means it is meant to be mutable. there is no one way. there should never be one way. it does not exist. secondly, theater does not exist in a fandom vacuum. its live every night, conceptually. theater is a live performance art.

interpretations change- it's the nature of theater. so i think asks like these really do illuminate the difference between fans of the show's content or fans of... i guess the show's culture's content.

this is a culture content ask.

one thing i really, truly, deeply need you all to understand: from an objective, script- and staging-based perspective, proshot sprace does not exist. they do not speak. they barely see each other. race does not even volunteer to go to brooklyn. the ship originates from the 1992 movie, where they do actually interact, which is why the ship has prevailed through the 90s to today. they're from the movie, not the musical.

of course, this doesn't bash the ship- it has history, and naturally fans want to create new history when they get a new source material (the musical). it's true for like every newsie ship lowkey (but also not lowkey because all the manhattan newsies do interact and sprace literally does not but thats a different post!!), which is something i do admire about the fandom- we do a lot of our own legwork here, we invent relationships and backgrounds from one-liners that could be given to tbh any frickin newsie. i respect the 30 years we have invented ships.

however.

when a huge, publicized, consistently sold out production comes along with spot conlon as not only a woman, but a woman of color (specifically black rn!) as the leader of the most feared group on stage, there becomes something much more important than a "sprace dynamic", which does not canonically exist in the musical anyway bro. you can't miss something that isn't there imo. often the story and casting within a story comes first, and goddamn if this isn't one of those times. lillie-pearl's spot brings bravado, swagger, confidence, and intimidation that is literally....fine maybe i'm being personal but it is slash gen incredible to see in technically a period piece! a black woman in leadership with that kind of assuredness! in such a popular musical! how is that not– automatically surpassing an often obsessed-over (yes i am. hinting at something here, straight girl fans) mlm ship?

and while i'm on the topic of the over-obsessiveness of mlm musical sprace, let me talk about uksies sprace. because what's also wack abt this ask is that sprace is not a hopeless case in this production- it literally has about as much 'evidence' as the proshot imo!!!!!

i got to hop over to 2nd row brooklyn seating for act 2 so i saw once and for all really close up, right. there's a moment when race is upstage letting the newsies in/down from the stairs. spot comes down and she does, in fact, share a look with him. race gives spot a nod and she keeps moving.

and like im gonna see the show again (every day i am counting my mf blessings fr), so if i'm wrong or they don't do it every time i'll correct myself, but that's what i saw with my own dang eyes on saturday. they do acknowledge each other in uksies.

and since they do, i really like. i have to ask. what is bothersome/unpopular abt uksies sprace, other than oh idk.... its not white/white mlm with a twink/manly bf trope? why can't race still love who spot is as a character, this strong and fearless ruler of brooklyn, in uksies? because tbh josh's racer...nahhhh because. this is such a side note now but they'd be so good together oh jesus am i gonna ship uk sprace. and it's not like they're 'taking away' from a queer ship because a) you can headcanon spot as a queer girl and race being trans is consistently popular and b) newsies has ten billion gayass ships bro we've been eatin for literal decades.

anon, i'm sure you didn't mean harm by this ask. i'm sure, honestly, that a lot of fans are feeling the same way as you and weren't quite sure how to put it in words. but, i'm also not surprised you sent an ask like this on anonymous specifically.

should you feel guilty about it? i don't think guilt is the right word. but i believe you should think more about how newsies is not.....static. it does not exist in one form, and it never will. if you're feeling genuinely let down that your ship did not see the light of day and a black girlsie spot conlon got to instead, then yes, you should reevaluate that. in theater, you should always question why something impacted you the way it did- a major point of theater is to discuss and think about it when you leave! i know this because ive spent three years literally studying it, to back up my thesis credentials.

thank you for reading this, newsies fandom. i do honestly say all this with love, and i hope it made u think !! ♥️

[asexualmusicalnerd]

Thoughts of Newsies UK final performance

-The lights going down, coming up to reveal the newsies on the balconies and everyone going ape shit

-Race kicking the paper instead of seeing it. Josh is honestly the best race. *chefs kiss*

-Hey Henry, one final time, get down here.

-More cheers

- Carrying the banner ended with a standing ovation.

-basically every other song ended with a standing ovation

-Oh! Crutchie used the slingshot in Carrying the Banner, missed totally, shook his hand, looked at our side of the audience and mouthed "caught my thumb" pouting slightly XD

-people were sobbing everywhere, the audience AND the newsies themselves!

-Pulitzer doing little squats whenever being particularly evil. It worked don't get me wrong, but it just made me smile. Little evil goblin (affectionate)

-Nuncio always looking appalled at Pulitzer's plan

-Matt Duckett's choice to kiss the cross on Jack's line "Sunday when you lie around all day" and how he looks downhearted when Jack says about leaving but perks up when he says he "got no folks nowhere" I could just spend the entire show watching his expressions. Boy that guy can act.

-That's Rich had Medda in tears and struggling to keep it together

-"who wants Brooklyn" and several news just vanishing behind their bags.

- Michael just loosing it completely in Santa Fae reprise, tears pouring down his cheeks. But he hit that high note perfectly.

-In Seize the Day and everyone paused for the photo everyone was sobbing. The newsies were clinging to each other trying to stay in character despite being in tears. And of course, massive round of applause there.

-And when they all say there name, each name got a round of applause, but after Race, the applause was just continuous

-Letters From the Refuge Crutchie's line of "so far they ain't bring us no food" someone in the audience let out a really loud "HA!" which let to laughs, cheers and a round of applause while Matt had to sit there trying not to laugh himself. Everything quiets down and he just goes. "Ha. Ha." with a knowing smirk.

-In Something to Believe In, both Bronte and Michael were crying, nearly loosing it on some notes but clinging to each other the entire time keeping each other going.

-Those Brooklyn Girlsies were killing it.

-"For the final time will someone shut those Newsies up!!"

-When the strike is settled, Michael is delivering his lines to the ground as tears drip to the floor.

You could just tell all night that these guys loved this show, everyone looked deeply moved yet still kept in character despite their emotions.

Incredible.

[sparkedblaze]

ok sure yeah davey is probably Athena, but consider as-well for him. Themis. Goddess of Justice? it’s real on the nose but i kind of like it, and rhis is a small side tangent but seeing davey taken out of the role as a union leader and being not treated as equally a demander of justice and equality for workers and kids just as much as jack and Katherine are. On actual topic now, the delanceys being asshole Ares kids who hate their dad but also everyone else is perfect to me.

thoughts on jack’s godly parent or any other Brooklyn (specifically maybe uk girlsies) kids? 👀👀

( @crunchie-morris )

DAVID AS A CHILD OF THEMIS >>>>>>

YES YES YES. ORIGINALLY I THOUGHT ATHENA BUT THIS?

THIS IS

*chefs kiss*

I LOVE IT.

NOT EVEN GONNA SAY ANYTHING ELSE ON IT BC YOU COVERED ALL OF IT.

LIKE

YOURE SO CORRECT

JACK

JACK JACK JACK

SON OF APOLLO.

ARTIST. THEATER MOM. GOOD VOICE.

CANT DANCE THOUGH AND THATS SO FUCKING FUNNY TO ME

Also I desperately wish I knew more about the girlsies to give you godly parents. Throw hcs/personalities into my ask box and I will get back to you

[aceofspades-sml]

Look I love the Brooklyn girlsies with all my heart okay ? But also I miss Smalls and Sniper so much like. What happened to my Bronx girls.

[spinningerster]

idk if the newsies fandom is still active on here bUT I saw the new London production on Saturday (Dec 3rd) and need to share my thoughts bc THIS SHOW -

apologies in advance for the amount of fangirling i'm about to do. also this will probably be very long so prepare yourselves

so newsies is my absolute favourite musical and I actually can't believe I got to see the first professional UK production - not only that, I also got to finally meet my best friend who I met through the show! we also made a new friend whilst in the merch line - and another two at stage door after the show. it was so cool to be around other fans of the show!

and wow - I was completely blown away. guys, the choreography for seize the day and king of new york is out of this world, I was in awe the whole time. and the end of once and for all, oh my god. 3 standing ovations as well! (two in seize the day, and during the curtain call/bowsies)

the talent in this show is unreal; michael ahomka-lindsay and bronté barbé were really great as jack and katherine, I really enjoyed their portrayals of the characters and they both have great voices. moya angela was amazing as medda, she wore this beautiful outfit during 'thats rich' that matched what the bowery beauties were wearing, which I really liked, and she had a really nice voice. matthew duckett was great as crutchie, and yes letter from the refuge made me cry. my favourite character portrayal was probably ryan kopel, there was just something about how he plays davey that i loved, and he understood the assignment with poor guys head is spinning which made me very happy.

there were also three swings performing; bradley trevethan as elmer, jordan isaac as romeo, and zack guest who made his finch debut, and they were all amazing!

honestly I could watch those boys dance forever.

the cast made great use of the large space they've been given, there were some walkways that were used in various parts of the show, such as during brooklyn's here with the different boroughs, and the cast going into the audience (such as going up/down the main stairs) makes the show really immersive.

brooklyn were all girlsies. and they had a dance break during brooklyn's here. there was one brooklyn girlsie who had her arm in a sling and her name was splint.

new things they added/details I noticed and really liked were:

• les was actually involved in king of new york

• katherine wore a lady liberty crown made out of spoons at the end of kony which I loved

• race's cigar actually smoked

• there was a little bit at the start of the show, before santa fe prologue, which showed the newsies trying to sell papers

• jack had a small photo of santa fe in his pocket which he was looking at during santa fe prologue, it was a small detail they added that I absolutely loved

• during the 'world will know' scene where they're going on strike, katherine is on one of the walkways (the one closest to where we were sat) watching, which I really liked as her then wanting to help the newsies made more sense as she watched them declare their strike

• there was (at least to me) a small homage to the 1992 movie - during seize the day, they knocked over one of the newspaper carts and started ripping up the papers

• jack did a full on like tarzan swing from a rope (that seemed to appear from nowhere) during the fight scene, les went to do the same thing but davey was like 'um no get down'

• jack was in the seize the day dance break, and he was really good!

• he gave katherine a newsie cap in the finale it was so cute

the newsies were used for a lot of scene changes, specifically for when props needed to be brought on stage. my favourite one was when katherine said 'thank you' to the two newsies who brought her desk and chair on for watch what happens. (sidenote, if you're sat in manhattan, you walk under the stage and get to see all the props which was so cool)

we stage doored after the show and it was so cool, we met michael & bronte (who we actually also met before the show), matthew and ryan, and they were all so lovely!

the best piece of live theatre i've ever seen, it was like nothing i've ever experienced.